Planning for Incapacity. Planning for incapacity may also be referred to as "life planning." With wills we are concerned with planning for distributing your estate in the most cost effective and efficient manner possible. What do we do to plan for problems which arise during your life because you do not have the ability to manage your affairs during a period of incapacity? I am often asked by my clients if planning for incapacity really necessary? Cant' the family can take care of their wishes? If you don't prepare for the future plan on having you and your family suffer the consequences. A failure to plan is a plan to fail. An hour of time spent planning and putting the appropriate directions in place can save hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars in the future. Planning today also saves the emotional toll that is placed on your family when they have to resort to the court system to address issues that should have been taken care before incapacity strikes. The primary objectives when planning for incapacity is the avoidance of the court controlled guardianship system and its incumbent costs in time and money while keeping control within the family. This control is broken down into two areas: Control or your finances and property and; control of your health care decisions. If you are not able to express your desires and direct your financial institutions on what to do with your assets then you are powerless to control your life. If you do not appoint someone to step in and act on your behalf, then there will be a vacuum of control which must be addressed by the method of last resort, the court system. If you plan today your children won't be faced with going to court to have a guardian appointed. The law has evolved to give you several options which, acting together can allow you to direct the control over your assets including who will manage the assets when you no longer have the ability, or legally speaking the "capacity", to make financial decisions. The law also allows you to nominate a similar person to make your health care decisions for you if you can not. In Florida granting authority to someone else is done by executing one or more legal documents usually a trust, power of attorney and health care surrogate. Each document addresses different aspects of the problem of incapacity and may in the case of the living trust solve several problems at the same time. Documents which can be drafted and execute now to keep control over the client's life out of the court system include: Durable Power of Attorney Creation of Joint Tenancies The Living Trust Pre-Need Nomination of Guardian Living Will/Health Care Surrogate Let's talk about Durable Power of Attorneys First.

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